Chair



March 4, 1941. l. SALOMON 2,233,749

CHAIR Filed June 17/ 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fuucwar fiw/z /y Jajw/w/a Q 20% M ///6" uiV/a/wzyi :FIEQZ March 4, 1941. 4 '1. SALOMON 2,233,749

CHAIR Filed June 17, 1940 2 sheetagsheet *2 I jmvizior I r0123 g'Q/ZMYLWU H15 gii'avvzgs Patented Mar. 4, 1941 2,233,749

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHAIR Irving Salomon, Michigan City, Ind.

Application June, 17, 1940, Serial No. 340352 9 Claims. (01. 155-142) This invention relates to a chair and more In the practice of the present invention I proparticularly to a folding or collapsible chair of vide a pair of combination hinge and supporting the general type which is commonly used in audior supporting members one of which is shown in toriums, schools, churches, funeral parlors and detail in Fig. 6, wherein it is indicated at l1.

th r pl ce Each of these members I1 is hingedly or pivotally 5 An-object of the present invention is to provide connected at one end, that is, at its upper end, a new and improved folding or collapsible chair as at [5, to one of the rear legs l2, and each of which is strong-er than the prior art chairs and these members I! is likewise hingedly or pivotally more capable of supporting relatively heavy perconnected at its lower end, as at 2|, to the corresons without danger of collapsing than chairs sponding or adjacent front leg II.

which h v be n madheretofore, As best shown in Fig. 6, the combination hinge One of the difiiculties which have been experiand supporting member I! includes a bifurcated enced heretofore in the use of folding chairs has lower end portion which provides a pair of spaced been the fact that such chairs sometimes collapse arms I8 which are dispo e at Opposite Sides o under the weight of a heavy person sitting therethe correspondi g fr t e I l and fo d in t e on with resulting injury to the person and conseupper surf-ace of each of the hinge a S pp tquent legal liability to the manufacturer of the ing members I! is a saddle or cradle l9 in which chair. the corresponding front leg ll of the chair is Accordingly, another object of the present ina pted to rest, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 vention is to construct a folding chair in such when the chair is in upright or erected position. a manner that it possesses greater strength and Each of the arms l8 of the hinge and S pp resistance to collapsing under the weight of a members I! is hingedly connected at 2| to the heavy person sitting thereon than has been the corresponding front leg H by a bolt, or like elecase in the prior art fol-ding chairs heretofore ment inserted through the openings and '1 made, through a suitable opening which is formed in Another object of the present invention is to each of the front le s II for the reception o provide a novel combination hinge and supportsaid bolt or like member 2|. ing member which is embodied in the chair Which Similarly, a transver ely e ndin op n n 3 forms the subject matter of the present invention. is formed in the rear port on of the combination in A preferred embodiment, of the new chair is h n e and suppo tin ember l1 and said memillustrated in the drawings wherein ber I1 is hingedly or pivotally connected to the Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a chair emcorrespo ing or adja t e leg l2 y eans bodying th present n t of a bolt or like element l5 which is inserted Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the same; through the opening 23 and through a corre- 3 is a fragmentary elevational view show- Sponding Opening W c s formed in the pp ing the combination hinge and supporting memend portion of the corresponding or adjacent rear ber which is embodied in the present invention; l l2 0f the chair.

Fig. 4 is a view partly in side elevation and In use of the n chair the P ts e eof partly in vertical section showing the combination are pr fer b y f rm f metal p ing suitto hinge and supporting member which is embodied able strength and other characteristics, and when 40 in th present i ti the new chair is in extended or erected position Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on line the front legs II, as shown in i 4 and 5....5 i Fig 3; d lie in the saddles or cradles IQ of the combination Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the novel comhinge a Supporting members W th the result bination hinge and supporting member which is vthat the Weight o a P n Sitting on the chair embodied in the present invention. and aning against the back 22 thereof is, to a A folding or li ib h i embodying t very considerable extent, carried by the combinapresent invention is generally indicated at I0 in t on hinge and supp ers I by which the drawings and comprises two front legs H and i1? in turn, distributed to and among the suptwo rear legs 12 and a seat [3 which is hingedly porting front and rear legs II and I2, respecconnected at [4 to the front legs II between the tively. In this manner the new chair is mateupper and lower ends of the latter, the rear end rially strengthened and prevented from collapsportion of the seat I3 being pivotally connected, ing under the weight of a person sitting thereon, as at [6, to the rear legs 7 [2 between the upper as sometimes happens in the use of the prior art so and lower ends of the latter. folding chairs and particularly when a heavy Person sits thereon, and in this manner the foregoing and other objects of the invention are accomplished.

When it is desired to fold or collapse the new chair this is accomplished by pressing upwardly upon the front end portion of the seat I3 while at the same time pushing the front and rear legs II and I2, respectively, together whereupon the front and rear legs I I and I2 and the seat I3 will collapse into a substantially parallel relationship relative to each other; it being noted, in this connection, that upward movement of the rear end portion of the seat i3 is prevented or limited by the pivotal connection I6 of the rear end portion of the seat I3 with the rear legs l2.

While I have illustrated and described a pre-,

ferred form of construction for carrying my'invention into effect, these are capable of variation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish" to be limited to the precise details of the con-' struction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variation and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A folding or collapsible chair comprising a seat and front and rear legs connected thereto and all adapted to be folded or collapsed into substantially parallel relationship with each other, said chair including a front leg which is arranged in a common plane with but forwardly of a corresponding rear leg of the chair, when the chair is in erected position, and means for hingedly connecting said front leg of the chair with the aforesaid corresponding rear leg of the same, said means comprising a combination hinge and supporting member having an upper end portion hingedly connected to the upper end portion of said rear leg of the chair and having a lower end portion hingedly connected to the said front leg of the chair between the upper and lower ends of the said front leg, said combination hinge and supporting member having a saddle formed in the upper surface thereof in which a portion of the said front leg rests when the said chair is in upright or erected position.

2. A folding or collapsible chair comprising a seat and front and rear legs connected thereto and all adapted to be folded or collapsed into substantially parallel relationship with each other, said chair including a front leg which is arranged in a common plane with but forwardly of a corresponding rear leg of the chair, when the chair is in erected position, and means for hingedly connecting said front. leg of the chair with the aforesaid corresponding rear legof the same, said means comprising a combination hinge and supporting member having an upper end portion hingedly connected to the upper end portion of said rear leg of the chair and having a lower end portion hingedly connected to the said front leg of the chair between the upper and lower ends of the said front leg, said combination hinge and supporting member having a concave upper surface providing a saddle in which a portion of the said front leg rests when the said chair is in upright or erected position.

3. The chair defined in claim one (1) in which the said combination hinge and supporting member has a bifurcated lower endportion providing a pair of spaced arms disposed on opposite sides of the said front leg and pivotally connected to the latter.

4. The chair defined in claim two (2) in which the said combination hinge andsupportingmembar has a bifurcated lower end portion providing a pair of spaced arms disposed on opposite sides of the said front leg and pivotally connected to the latter.

,5. A folding or collapsible piece of furniture comprising a seat and a front leg connected thereto and a rear leg operatively connected to said seat and said seat and said front leg and said rear leg being adapted to be folded or collapsed into a generally parallel relationship relative to each other, said front leg and said rear le'g lyingin a common plane, and means operatively interconnecting the said front leg and the said rear leg together, said interconnecting means comprising a member including a portion operatively connected to the said front leg and including another portion operatively connected to the said rear leg, and said member including a portion having a portion of the said front leg resting thereon when the said piece of furniture is in its erected or upright position.

6 A folding or collapsible piece of furniture comprising a seat and a front leg connected thereto and a rear leg connected to said seat and said seat and said front leg and said rear leg being adapted to be folded or collapsed into a generally parallel relationship relative to each other, said front leg and said rear leg lying in a common plane, and means operatively interconnecting the said front leg and the said rear leg together, said interconnecting means comprising a member including. a portion connected to the carried thereby, said legs and said seat being adapted to be folded or collapsed into a generally parallel relationship relative to each other, said front leg and said rear leg lying in a common plane, and means operatively interconnected to at least one of said legs for receiving a portion of the said front leg and for bracing the said front leg when the said piece of furniture is in its erected or upright position, said means comprising amember having an upper end portion pivotally connected to theupper end portion of the said rear leg, said member having a lower end portion pivotally connected to the said front leg between the upper and lower ends of the said front leg.

8.. A folding or collapsible piece of furniture comprising a front leg and a rear leg and aseat carried thereby, said legs and said seat being adapted to be folded or collapsed into a generally parallel relationship relative to each other, and means operatively interconnectedto: at least one of said legs for receiving a portion of the said front leg and for bracing the. said front legwhen the said piece of furniture isin its erected or upright position, said means comprising a member having an upper end portion pivotally connected to the upper end portion of the said rear leg, said member having a lower end' portion pivotally connectedto the said front leg'between the upper and lower ends of thesaid front leg, said member. having acurved upper'surface providing a saddle adapted to receive a portion. of the said front leg: when the said piece of furniture is in its erected; or uprightposition.

,9; A folding; chair ,ofsthe character described comprising, in combination, a: seat having: front; 1

rear and side edges, a supporting structure comprising rear leg members, front leg members pivotally connected intermediate their upper and lower ends to opposite side edges of said seat intermediate the front and rear edges of said seat so that the portions of said front leg members below said seat constitute front legs for the chair and the upper portions of said leg members provide a back rest frame for the chair, each of said front leg members lying in a common plane with the corresponding one of said rear leg members, means connecting said front leg members adjacent their upper ends to provide a back rest for said chair, a pair of rear leg members pivotally connected intermediate their ends to the rear corners of said seat, means connecting the upper ends of said rear leg members to said front leg members comprising a pair of link members, means pivoting said link members between the upper ends of said rear leg members and said front leg members to provide for shifting movement of said rear leg members from a downwardly and rearwardly projecting erected relationship relative to said front leg members into a substantially parallel collapsed relationship relative to said front leg members, and complemental interlocking means on adjacent portions of certain of said members comprising a portion on one of said members resting on a portion of the adjacent member and moved into operative interlocking relationship as an incident to movement of said rear leg members into erected position and operable to maintain said front leg members and the upper end portions of said rear leg members in a relatively rigid lateral relationship when said chair is in erected or upright position.

IRVING SALOMON. 

